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The snow rake pictured on the left is by far the best solution for roof situations where there is lots of snow to get rid of. There is no such thing as a best snowblowers for roof snow removal. It comes with 3, 8 foot sections that hook together giving you a 24 foot reach. This is more than enough to get at the snow on your roof without having to actually get on your roof. Consumers using the snow rake stand on the ground and pull the heavy snow off their roof onto the ground. It is much safer than getting up onto a slippery roof. There is almost zero chance of damaging the roof shingles as well. Consumer need to understand that their shingles can become brittle in cold and crack if stepped on. Anytime a shingle cracks, it is a potential leak into your home which can cause a great deal more damage.

Best Snowblowers for Roof

Some consumers will use an electric powered snow shovel while on their roof. They are handy for light powdery snow conditions. However for heavy snow and ice crystals, a shovel is probably the best tool to use. Be careful to avoid damaging your shingles with the shovel and causing potential future leaks into your home.

Unless you have the proper equipment i.e. boots that don’t slip and a roof that is not too sleep, we really recommend that you do not get onto the roof. The possibility of losing your grip and sliding off the roof is high. Depending on the height and also what you land on, you really could hurt yourself badly.

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If the 24 foot pole is not long enough to reach all of your roof consider adding additional 8 foot lengths to increase the reach. The pole is a bit difficult and unwieldy to handle. But once on the roof, all you need to do is pull the snow towards the edge without allowing the rake to go over the edge.

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Using roof snow blowers is not a good idea for the average consumer. We wanted to say that up front to make sure that readers understand that it can be very dangerous to the person using the snow blower. There is also the possibility of actual damage to the roof. If not completed carefully and in a safe manner, people have fallen from the roof due to the unsafe conditions.

They have also damaged the roof causing water damage and major leaks to the interior of their homes and businesses. If you must clear snow from your roof there are a couple of safe ways to arrange for the job to be completed. We will cover these issues in this post. We are very interested in your safety and prefer that no one is hurt in any way.

Roof Snow Blowers – Use a Snow Rake Instead

For those of you who may not be aware, a snow rake is actually a blade that is attached to a long pole. This allows the operator to stand on the ground. The business end of the rake is placed on the roof. The operator pulls the snow towards the edge of the roof onto the ground. Sure you have to work a little harder. You may have to shovel the snow that falls onto your driveway or steps, but it is far safer than getting on the roof.

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If you must get on the roof, devices like the one shown in this picture are sometimes used. It is light, easy to hold and runs on electricity. It can be used on the roof without placing a lot of weight on cold brittle shingles. They could break under your own weight.

We have seen pictures of full sized snow blowers on a roof. We are not sure if they were photo shopped or not, but this is clearly a very unsafe thing to consider.

Using a snow blower on your roof is probably not the best thing to do, given the danger of slipping. Also potentially damaging your shingles on your roof. However we know people are going to disregard these suggestions and do things that may compromise their own safety. The best snow blowers for roofs is actually a snow rake. You stand on the ground and pull the snow off the roof rather than lift a snow blower onto the roof. Although a snow rake takes more work, it is by far the safest approach to take. If you are going to use a snow blower on the roof, use one that is meant to be portable. One that you can lift with one hand and that you can handle easily while maintaining your balance on a slippery roof.

Best Snow Blowers for Roofs – Portable Snow Blower

Most snow blowers are far to heavy to lift onto the roof and they will definitely damage your roof as well. Use a portable snow blower like the one in the picture. It is an electric blower so no need to worry about spilling gasoline on your roof. It is light enough that it will do less damage to your roof.

The hand held model will handle most snow conditions. However if there is ice or hard packed snow it may have more difficulty removing the icy junks. You probably also blow the snow onto adjacent sidewalks or even your driveway and will have to clear it later on. This is to be expected. If there are shrubs just below your roof, try to avoid dumping too much snow onto the shrubs. The weight of the snow will usually break the branches and flatten them to the ground.

If there is any doubt about your safety, hire someone to do the work on your behalf or use a snow rake to remove the snow.

Many readers are looking for snow blower for roof solutions which we have to say can be very dangerous. We have seen numerous pictures of people using hoists and cranes to lift full-size snow blowers onto a sloped roof. Not only will you damage your shingles you can slip off the roof and have serious injuries as a result.

We strongly encourage readers to never lift a snowblower of any kind onto a roof. There are two possible solutions which are much safer. The electric snowblower shown in this picture would work. This is provided that the snow is not hard-packed or has an icy crust on it. Anyone attempting to use this solution needs to be very careful to avoid falling off the roof. But at least it is a light machine and can be controlled much more easily than a full-blown powerful snowblower.

Snow Blower for Roof – Use a snow Rake

This solution is far better, although it involves much more work. Although it is probably a lot harder, it is much safer than getting onto the roof. The snow rake has several long poles which are connected together. The user can stand on the ground to pull the snow off the roof. Consumers must be careful to not work too hard especially if you have been a couch potato for many years. With this kind of work, often people who are not fit. They suffer heart attacks when they do this type of work.

If you fall into this latter category, hire someone to do the work for you who is younger and fit. While it will cost you some money, it is much better than falling off the roof or suffering a heart attack. Electric snow blowers and roof snow rakes are the best options for clearing snow off of sloped roofs. Even those that are flat.

Using a leaf blower for snow on roof clearing looks to this writer as an incredibly dangerous activity. These guys on the roof of this house are really taking a chance walking on a slippery icy roof. They are attempting to clear a light amount of snow from the roof. It appears that they are using a rope as an attempt at safety. However the second individual has nothing to grab on to if the first should slip and fall. Both are going to go tumbling off the roof and land on whatever is at the bottom. This also looks like a home under construction so there are likely some sharp ragged things on the ground. This could hurt them a lot when they do land on the ground. Never try this sort of thing without a lot more security than what these guys currently have.

Leaf Blower for Snow on Roof – Does it work?

Aside from the safety issue, we are wondering if using a leaf blower to clear the snow from the roof would actually work or not? Light, non compacted snow could possibly be blown off the roof, however most snow goes through a compaction cycle of the sun warming the snow slightly during the day so that it melts a bit. At night when the air is colder, the snow forms a crust on the top of the snow. Once the crust has formed it takes much more than a leaf blower to remove any snow on a roof.

As the snow gets deeper on the roof, the snow becomes heavier as well and so really using a leaf blower to clear snow from the roof is a non starter. As we mentioned earlier it is also very dangerous to be on the roof anyway due to the slippery slopes. If you must clear the snow from the roof, use a snow rake with a long pole to remove the snow. Consumers can remove the snow in this manner while remaining on the ground! Remember stay safe!

The questions in not how to get a snowblower on a roof. But why would you do this or take the chance of an accident and damaging your roof? We hope this picture is photo shopped and not something that really happened. Snow loads on a roof is an important issue. As a result the snow needs to be removed to avoid damage to the roof. Most people will get on the roof to shovel the snow off. They can also use a snow rake while standing on the ground to remove the snow. Of course raising a heavy snow blower onto the roof is difficult to do and also dangerous. How do you get the snow blower up there? A crane could do the job if you had one handy. I guess you could lift it up there but most people cannot afford to hire a crane.

How to get a Snowblower on a Roof – Damage to Roof

More importantly is the potential damage you can cause to the shingles as you move the snowblower along the roof. The tires are going to dig in and dislodge shingles. The scraper on the snow blower is going to catch shingles and tear them off. As a result a lot of damage will be done to the roof. This can cause leaks later on when the snow begins to melt.

Whatever you are thinking, don’t try this as a solution. If you cannot get up on the roof yourself, hire someone to clear the snow off. Make sure that they do this in a safe manner to avoid any potential injury from falling. Personally I use a snow rake. It allows me to stand on the ground and pull the snow off the roof. It is hard work, but a whole lot safer. If you are the couch potato type, you may want to hire someone to do this. Many heart attacks are caused by unaccustomed overwork.

This is not exactly a flat roof and this is definitely not the way to remove snow from a roof. The probability of damaging this roof with the back hoe is extremely high. It is almost a given that it will happen. All it takes is one accidental brush with the bucket and the shingles are broken allowing water to penetrate in the spring causing a great deal more damage from water leakage. Flat Roof Snow Removal is very risky. And that is assuming that the operator is extremely careful and does not make any major mistakes. He could actually put the bucket right through the roof if he pulls a lever the wrong way!

Flat Roof Snow Removal – The Way to Do It

The only way to remove snow from a roof is to shovel it off by hand to ensure that no damage is done to the shingles. In cold weather the shingles are brittle and will crack easily. Even if you are using a shovel and walking on the roof, it is better to leave a couple of inches of snow on the roof to protect the shingles and avoid any damage to the shingles which could lead to further water damage from leaks.

Flat roof snow removal will take more work since the snow will not slide easily off the roof like. Never the less, if the snow load is too great, someone will need to get up on the roof to remove the snow.

Some consumers will also use a snow rake to clear snow off their roofs. This is a shovel with a long pole attached. The shovel is vertical to the roof allowing it to be pulling snow ahead of it off the roof. This type of snow removal can be accomplished from ground level with no danger to the person removing snow. There is also no danger of damaging shingles as well since no one is walking across the roof. A snow rake can also be used on flat roofs to reduce the amount of foot traffic on the roof. Avoid collapsed roofs and remove much of the snow to reduce the weight on your roof.

Is there such a thing as a safe snow thrower for flat roof? We do not think so. We certainly do not recommend the approach this homeowner is taking to clear snow off his roof. It is simply too dangerous on a number of levels to warrant taking the chance on using a snow thrower on your roof. We also wonder how he got it up there in the first place. We will not even speculate since that might give readers the idea. Even though there are risks, they might try it instead of using an old fashion shovel to remove the snow from their flat roofs.

Snow Thrower for Flat Roof – Issues to Consider

First of all there is the inherent challenge to raise a heavy snow thrower up to the roof. You could damage the building and may hurt someone. Sure you could probably figure out how to do it safely, but is it really worth the effort given the following issues.

Consumers must also avoid getting too close to the edge of the roof. It is a long way down and once the snow thrower goes over the edge even with one tire. There is no way the operator can hold onto it and prevent it from falling.

The tires and the scraper on the snow thrower can potentially damage the shingles. Or the rubber membrane that is found on flat roofs. If a hole is punched in the membrane, water leaks are going to take place for sure and cause a lot more damage. At the very least, shingles will crack. They may even break off causing long-term damage and shorten the life span of the roof.

Not all roofs are design the same. Some can support a great deal of weight in terms of snow load and one person walking on the roof. Add a heavy snow thrower to the roof and there is no telling what will happen.

We strongly suggest that the snow should be shoveled off the roof taking care to avoid damaging the roof in any way.

Let’s start this post by saying we do not recommend this approach shown in this picture on the left. We do not know how he got the snow blower onto the roof. We certainly cannot suggest that consumers even remotely think about this type of solution to get snow off their roofs. There is no such thing as a Snow Thrower for Flat Rubber Roof. This looks like a flat roof. That usually means it has a rubber membrane to seal the roof or perhaps a tar based membrane. Either way the amount of damage that can be done to the roof by using a snow blower on the roof is huge. Gauging holes in the roof, scraping some of the shingles and tar or rubber off the roof is just the beginning.

Snow Thrower for Flat Rubber Roof – Damages

Using any heavy equipment that can scrape shingles or tear a hole in the roof is just something you do not want to do. Any tear in the fabric allows moisture to enter the roof structure. Then into the building below, in this case the house. If this is a flat roof, then the water from the snow when it melts is just going to pour through this hole and into the home.

Water damage spreads quickly, especially if it is a large leak. If it is a large leak then at least it will be noticed right away since the water will just pour in. If it is a small leak then the water will drip in. It will spread slowly causing mold and damage to the insulation, the structure and the drywall. This can lead to thousands of dollars in damages.

There is also a safety issue. Suppose you get to close to the edge. Both the operator and the snow blower could fall off the roof causing further damage. In addition some roofs have weak points which a heavy snow blower could fall through.

We strongly advise that the snow should be shoveled off the roof. Never use a snow blower on any roof! A roof is built to handle snow load. Not a concentrated heavy load like a person and a snow blower.

There are multiple ways to remove snow from your roof and one of them is a lot safer than the other. But first we need to discuss why you may want to consider roof snow removal in the first place.

The picture on the left really shows how snow can build up in specific places o your roof. While this is not really enough snow to be considered dangerous from a snow load perspective. It is a problem waiting to become a nightmare for someone. When snow builds up like this, especially along the edge of a wall, there is always some spots were the snow melts and water begins to run down along the wall.

If this water can find a way inside the roof into your home, there is going to be a lot of water damage. In this specific situation, this is the primary reason for roof snow removal.

For most people it is more a concern about snow load on the roof becoming too much for the rafters to support and it collapses. The weight of snow can be a combination of the weight of snow and sometimes rain during a warm spell that falls and is absorbed by the snow. It never gets a chance to run off the roof adding to the overall weight of the snow on the roof. As more and more snow is added, the weight becomes too much and the roof collapses.

Roof Snow Removal

As the picture shows this man is up on his roof removing the snow. The roof is relatively flat which is another reason the snow accumulates, making the roof relatively safe to be on and not risk slipping off. Other roofs are much more steep and many consumers have fallen off their roof and been seriously injured. We do not suggest that you try this approach due to the possible risk of falling. Never the less the snow needs to be removed and this is one of the reasons we are writing this post. We wanted to provide alternatives for removing snow from the roof.

Some consumers will take the safer approach of using what is called a “snow rake”.

The roof shown in this second picture is slightly steeper. It could be a large risk for some people attempting to get on the roof to remove the snow. The snow rake is a scraper attached to a long pole. It allows the consumer to stand on the ground and scrape the snow off the roof. It can take a bit longer to do. The work is hard on the arms since you are constantly working with this long pole. But it is much safer. The only risk you have is slipping on the driveway or the lawn area that you stand on.

Roof Snow Removal – Using a Scraper

It can take awhile to remove the snow. If there is a crust on the snow, it can be difficult to get the scraper to dig into the snow. However if you are persistent it will come off. You will have the satisfaction of not worrying about the snow load on your roof. Consumers are cautioned that you still need to move some of the snow away from the home. You will have to remove it from the driveway or sidewalk if it falls on this area.

Having used one of these scrapers several times, I can tell you they work great and are much safer. The pole comes in sections and can be disassembled for storage. I even added a second section to it to extend the reach to the higher areas of my roof . We also take special care to make sure that snow does not build up below the skylight were an ice dam can form. This potentially could cause further damage from water leaking inside of our home.

Take the safe route when you are considering roof snow removal. Make sure that you do not allow the snow load to build up. Also make sure that you use a snow rake to remove snow from your roof in a safe manner without worrying about falling off of the roof.

Another area that gets consumers into trouble during the winter are frozen pipes. You may want to read a post about this subject. If you do, click here.